About “home” the author and civil rights activist Maya Angelou wrote, “The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we and not be questioned.” Graham Rowles, a gerontology professor at the University of Kentucky, said “We have a need for a place that is called home. Home provides security, control, belonging, identity, and privacy, among other things. But most of all, it is a place that provides us with a centering– a place from which we leave each morning and to which we return each evening.” What does “home” mean to you? This talk about home explores loss, perspective, gratitude, and hope.

Hilary has devoted her career to ending homelessness. She has worked in shelters, supervised street outreach teams, and administered permanent supportive housing programs in Boston, New York, and Vermont. She helped pioneer the evidence-based Housing First model in the 90s in New York City and brought the Housing First model to Vermont in 2009. As the founding Executive Director of Pathways Vermont, in addition to permanent supported housing programs, Hilary has developed alternative community mental health initiatives to meet the unmet needs of Vermonters experiencing mental health challenges. These include the Pathways Vermont Community Center, Support Line, and Soteria House. Hilary is a former Peace Corps Volunteer, having served four years in Benin, West Africa. She holds an MFA degree in creative writing/poetry and lives with her family in South Burlington.